Heat Giving Up First-round Pick, $1 Million In Deal For Riley

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Pat Riley effectively became coach of the Miami Heat Friday when the Heat and Knicks agreed to compensation that frees Riley from the final year on his New York contract.

Just hours before NBA Commissioner David Stern was to rule on the Knicks' tampering charges against the Heat, the teams agreed to compensation Friday that gave New York the first-round draft pick the Heat acquired last November from the Atlanta Hawks in the deal that brought Kevin Willis for Steve Smith and Grant Long. The Knicks also received $1 million from the Heat.

Still to be finalized is the contract that will make Riley the fourth coach in the Heat's eight seasons. The Heat have scheduled a news conference for Saturday morning, presumably to name Riley their coach.

"We are very, very close to an agreement with Pat," Heat Executive Vice President Dave Wohl said. "That is almost done."

Riley is expected to sign for five years for $15 million, as well as receive an equity stake in the franchise from the owning Arison family.

After weeks of posturing by the Knicks about the Heat's "blatant" tampering with Riley, New York agreed to the settlement that hastens its rebuilding process in exchange for relinquishing one year of Riley's rights.

"We're content with the outcome," said Dave Checketts, president and CEO of Madison Square Garden, who represented the Knicks in the compensation negotiations. "We got what we were seeking. The Miami-Pat Riley affair is history right now."

With the threat of a Stern ruling looming, the Heat backed off its hard line that it would not forward a first-round pick to the Knicks that could emerge as a lottery pick. However, unlike the Heat's own 1996 first-round pick, the Atlanta pick comes with strings attached. The primary stipulation in the Heat's trade with the Hawks was that if Atlanta's pick is among the first five, the Hawks could retain it and forward a subsequent first-round pick. In essence, it means that in exchange for the rights to Riley the Heat did not relinquish an opportunity to select a top five player.

"We originally had gone into this thinking this is what we would have to give up for Pat's services," Wohl said.

Both parties said the compensation issue never centered on players. Although the NBA is involved in a lockout that prohibits player movement, the Heat was allowed to transfer the draft pick because it was a transaction that did not involve a player contract.

Although the Heat could have issued the Atlanta first-round pick to the Knicks well in advance of Stern's pending ruling, Wohl said the Heat gained by going to the wire.

"They reduced their monetary demands enormously," Wohl said. The Knicks initially were seeking well in excess of $3 million.

Since presiding over the Aug. 4 tampering hearing, Stern had made it clear it was his preference that the teams reach an agreement that did not bring the league into the quarrel.